Chinese food versus McDonald's

[hzrt8w]

I have a few nieces and nephews aged from 6 to 12. They are American born Chinese raised in the USA. Take them out to have a meal from time to time.

Where would you like to go? Have dim sum (or other Chinese food), or McDonald's?

MCDONALD'S!!! The answer is always the same.

*sigh*

**double sigh**

Kids at that age seem to prefer hamburgers more than Chinese food. I don't know why that is. Is it the playpen thing more than anything else? Or the toys that come with the happy meal? While these kids don't refuse Chinese food, they didn't seem to have developed a liking of it either.

When I was a kid, I ate whatever my father took me to (not that I have a say anyway). Back in the 60's we didn't have any hamburger places in Hong Kong. So I grew up without eating hamburgers. And I have never quite developed a craving for it either in my adult life. Kids today are different. Full of choices. Even my sister's kids prefer McDonald's over Chinese food when they were small - and they live in Hong Kong all their lives.

Why is that? Perhaps to kids, food is just for filling hungers and nothing more. It won't matter to them whether it is ground beef in sesame buns or shrimp dumplings. Play is the most important agenda. And play things - McDonald's has plenty.

Will these kids ever discover the value of their roots one day? That they will one day, out of their own will, visit a wonton noodle house instead of McDonald's?

Edited October 2, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[munchymom]

My non-Chinese 5-year-old will choose Chinese food over McD's every time (although it's Americanized Chinese food, fried shrimp and spring rolls, etc.) His real favorite is the Japanese steak house (with the grill in the middle of the table.) Maybe play (or spectacle) is the most important thing.

I wouldn't predict what food they'll like as adults based on what they like now, any more than I would for music, books, movies, or any other matters of taste. People mature, and hopefully they come to appreciate the good stuff.

[I_call_the_duck]

I did. Mom said that my brother and I jumped up and down in excitement when a McDonald's opened, and this was the pre-Happy Meals days. When I was a teenager, there was a time when I craved for something else other than Chinese food. I just wanted some variety, but I also think it was exploring different cuisines.

This stopped when I went to college in a fairly large city. The food sucked, and the Chinese population including college students was probably about 100 (I'm exaggerating a little, but it was a small number). I craved real Chinese food, and it wouldn't be sated until I went home. Nowadays, I can't stand McDonald's, and would much prefer a wonton house over fast food.

It varies with my nieces and nephews (all half-Chinese), depending on which parent it is. My oldest sister would not let them near a McDonald's. Her daughter, now 17, much prefers Chinese food over fast food. My nephew did prefer pizza when he was younger, but loves har gows. Give him a choice of McD's or dim sum, and he'll go for the latter.

My other sister though, feeds her kids McD's, so therefore they like that better. Dim sum? Eew!

All kids a young age learned the letter "M" from seeing the golden arches. Blame that on commercialism.

Ah Leung, great to see you posting more often again!!

[HVRobinson]

When my then 10 year old son came to visit me in San Francisco we would go for Dim Sum. By the time he was 13 he had developed his own likes and dislikes, but would order in Cantonese (not too bad for a Jewish boy from Los Angeles). When my new wife and I chose to sleep in he'd take the bus to China town and order for himself, and then bring us a doggie bag of our favorites. He frequently got freebies from the cart jockies... just for being able to order his har gow, sui mai, char sui bao, jin doi and all the rest of his favorites. As for McDonald's...it's more nearly a desire for the advertising more than the food, but it meets what children want, it tastes good (lots of salt, sweet, fat) and comes with prizes, a play place and all their friends share the common experience. If you treat it as an occasional thing and not what holds body and soul together... they will eventually recognize it for what it is... lousy food that you can count on while on the road.

hvr

[feedmec00kies]

In my own experience, a desire to eat McDonald's was about being "American." Both my parents are immigrants, (Mom from Hong Kong, and Dad from former USSR/modern-day Ukraine) and I was biracial, and I always found myself eating differently from my peers.

I remember when I first brought in food to celebrate my birthday in first grade (I had a summer birthday, and I don't think my kindergarten teacher had auxiliary birthdays for us summer babies), my mom baked some sort of plum cake or something. I still remember my teacher seemed really thrilled and interested... and my classmates? Well, let's just say they were hoping for the usual Munchkins... (I don't remember at all, but I actually suspect I came home upset about it, because I don't ever remember bringing anything like that for that sort of event ever again...)

Besides the fact that my parents weren't accustomed to eating fast food like McDonald's, my mother was very conscientious about what my sister and I ate. She rarely gave us junk food, candy, or cold cuts. There was also an element of class/socio-economic status in the whole thing as well, because when I was young my family was on a very tight budget, and my mom felt that those things just weren't a good value nutritionally; she'd only buy those things "once in a blue moon", and only on sale with coupons.

So, when I was younger, race and class and first-generation status (as well as my unpopularity) all came into play with food and I wanted to eat McDonald's like everyone else around me in north shore Long Island. I never pushed my parents for it (I was an obedient child who never really asked for anything, even when I pined for it), but I was always happy when I got to get McDonald's, Burger King, Gushers, Fruit-by-the-Foot, etc. To me, it made me feel like I fit in a little better.

However, I have to say that it definitely had something to do with conspicuous consumption (dun-dun DUN!!!). I was, while wishing to eat like everyone else in public (particularly the lunch room), also an extremely adventurous eater since I was a child. I loved the spicy beef tendons my parents would buy regularly at an Asian market near me, and loved when my parents made liver, and would be excited to try frogs legs, escargot, duck tongue, beef tongue, tripe, etc. I actually don't think there was much I wouldn't eat then that I wouldn't or don't eat now... I just wouldn't want to eat it in front of anyone else. I didn't even want to eat the well-seasoned chicken cutlet my mom put on bread for my sandwich, wrapped in a fold-top sandwich bag in front of other people, which smelled and looked different from the baloney on potato bread or turkey on white that everyone else pulled out of their zip-lock bags. Damn, I wanted to have my sandwich in a zip-lock bag like the other children.. (unfortunately, that is only partly a joke).

I only came out of my shell eating "strange" foods in front of people (who weren't family) this past year or so, because a friend/housemate would eat canned sardines and beef liver like I would, and I felt more comfortable about who I was and my tastes for food. I ate some spicy Korean soup with beef intestine, tripe, tendon and tofu in front of an old high school friend a few weeks ago, and I would never have contemplated doing that a few years ago.

So, of course, the point of my long-winded story is... maybe that could give you some insight on what's happening with your nephews and nieces?

[sanrensho]

My non-Chinese 5-year-old will choose Chinese food over McD's every time (although it's Americanized Chinese food, fried shrimp and spring rolls, etc.)

Same here, my two girls (Japanese descent, both raised here) would both choose dim sum every time. Dim sum is a "special event" meal for them, and nothing under the arches can compare with a basket of har gow.

[Dejah]

My CBC kids loved McD's when they were small. I think this is because they had Chinese food everyday at our restaurant and often at home. I remember when we took a trip across the four western provinces, we hit every McD's along the TransCanada highway. There's also the playstructure and toys attraction.

Now, it's dim sum, Chinese everytime.

My 9 year old grandson loves dim sum and especially joongzi. He'll go to McD's once in a while for a cheeseburger, prefers A&W for their onion rings, but given the choose, he'd choose dim sum (siu mai) and joongzi. He stayed with us last week while the parents were away. For supper, he ate 2 of my full-sized joongzi!

[Big Bunny]

This thread reminds me of Calvin Lee's book "Chinese cooking for American Kitchens."

He tells of being a kid and rejecting jook in favor of American cereals so that he could send the box tops in for secret decoder rings, an the like.

BB

[docsconz]

The day that we see dim sum in commercials aimed at kids is the day that kids will in general start preferring dim sum to Mcd's. Fortunately, many outgrow that and move on.

[hzrt8w]

Thanks for your response, everyone! (Hi Karen the Duck! Nice to see you too!)

I think kids at that age may not have the concept of "being American". To them, their home is their home. They wouldn't know America is only one of the countries (cultures) in the world, let alone trying to be patriotic.

What many said make sense: kids are driven by the desire to have fun. And fun, at that age, is not derived from the pleasure of eating good food. Eating is eating. Just a necessity. Playing has better value. And McD is just doing hell of a job targeting these young minds. Many parents go to McD only because the kids want to.

Talked to a Chinese mom at a restaurant. Her two sons would cry and cry to go to eat at McDonald's whenever they go out. Her routine is: take the two boys to eat at McDonald's, then she comes and eats at the Chinese restaurant for her dim sum and wonton noodles and lets the boys play video games at the table. What a compromise!

Edited October 3, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[jo-mel]

The power of advertisement! You've probably all heard of the McDonald wrapped hamburger and french fries, and the same thing in plain paper wrappers? The kids said the McDonald wrapped stuff tasted better.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/fe...hoolers-sw.html

[I_call_the_duck]

The day that we see dim sum in commercials aimed at kids is the day that kids will in general start preferring dim sum to Mcd's.

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I think you have something there doc. Sheer brilliance!! I can see it now--little har gows and shiu mais dancing around, with Rachel Ray singing, "Dim sum!! Yumyum!"

ETA: On another note...I was going to get a cheesesteak for lunch today, when something made me turn in the opposite direction to get some won ton noodle soup.

Edited October 4, 2007 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[Kouign Aman]

I'm not sure what my british-descended child would choose in absence of parental input, but if I mentioned the fish, crabs and lobsters in the tanks, I know I could sway the vote to dim sum. I might be able to do it just by mentioning soup.

So far, drive thru food is drive thru food. We havent made the association with happy meals or playgrounds yet. Which is good because 'chicken fry and french fries' wield a pretty strong appeal all on their own.

[Ce'nedra]

Hey, don't knock Filet O'Fish! I love that stuff!

[hzrt8w]

Chinese food is not very children friendly. For one thing, Chinese restaurants do not offer "kid's menus". Being a culture that shares dishes in a meal (so we won't have three dishes of Kung Pao Chicken at the same table), kids eat whatever their parents/guardians order. But at McDonald's, they can eat what they want! Wow!

The other thing is serving style. Chinese food: no carving knife. Chicken is cooked whole then chopped into (big) pieces - with skin and bones. Fish is steamed whole - with skin and bones! Okay... I bet you can't cook a cow with skin and bones. Kids (as I observe my nieces and nephews) have a really hard time to dealing with Chinese food. A piece of chicken is usually too big to chew. And I am sure many of us have painful memories of getting fish bones stuck in our throats when we were small. At McDonald's, chicken comes in a nugget! Fish is a patty! So is a cow! No more whole gai lan to swallow down! Hell, no veggie period!

It is a pretty easy game to win over millions of kids' minds. McDonald's it is...

Is there any way to lure kids to come along for Chinese dim sum? Maybe a reward card? Like... 5 times to eat dim sum instead of McDonald's, you will get a new video game?

Edited October 5, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Yes one of my little cousins always orders fried rice time and time again whenever he's out for Chinese. Maybe because it's easy to eat?

[sheetz]

Is there any way to lure kids to come along for Chinese dim sum? 

Yes! What kid wouldn't be fascinated with these dishes from Mission 261 in San Gabriel?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderingchopsticks/374029605/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/automaticsweetheart/436026991/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stutefish/34125044/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stutefish/341...in/photostream/

[SheenaGreena]

hey I was the same way. I hated korean food growing up and I would beg my parents to take me to mcdonalds or burger king...or if I was in korea, Lotteria. Now that I am older (and much wiser) I would take korean or chinese food for that matter over fast food.

I think I wanted mcdonalds because of the happy meals and the chance to play in the ball pit. For some reason, that ball pit always smelled like stinky feet and sweat....ugh gross. I'm surprised I never barfed while playing in that damn thing after I ate my happy meal : /

[Ce'nedra]

Is there any way to lure kids to come along for Chinese dim sum? 

Yes! What kid wouldn't be fascinated with these dishes from Mission 261 in San Gabriel?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderingchopsticks/374029605/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/automaticsweetheart/436026991/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stutefish/34125044/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stutefish/341...in/photostream/

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OMG those are so cute! This is in LA? Shall make a trip there (hopefully) next time I return to LA

[Hest88]

As an ABC I grew up eating Chinese at home but, yeah, I remember loving McD's as well. When I was in my early teens my parents took us to Hong Kong and even though there were lots of Chinese foods I loved my sister and I still had to seek out pizza once. I think I really starting growing out of it in college and now if I go too many days without eating a big mess of stir-fried vegetables then my body starts getting massive cravings! I just about never eat McD's though (with the rare exception of Sausage McMuffins once or twice a year) now that I have the choice.

[yunnermeier]

When I was younger, my mum cooked nearly everyday. When we ate out as a family, it was ALWAYS Chinese food so if I had to pick between Chinese and McDonalds back then, I would definitely pick McDonalds. It just seemed more 'special' because Chinese food=daily food.

Now that I'm older, it's Chinese (or any restaurant) food all the way!

[Soup]

Depends on how it is sold.

My kids love MCD and will almost aways choose MCD over chinese food. However, if I make the choice between noodles and MCD it is about 75% noodle vs. 25% MCD. They love the thin egg noodle soup with HK shrimp dumpling and my son will always name that dish as his second favorite.

[stephenc]

I dunno. I love the taste of McDonalds. If it weren't for my health, I'd eat it every day.

Edited October 6, 2007 by stephenc (log)

[Ce'nedra]

I eat it everytime (always Filet O'Fish) I'm out doing quick shopping

EDIT: Oh and it's also the best thing to eat right after a long night of dancing at the clubs

Edited October 6, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[yunnermeier]

my favourite thing from mcdonalds is the fries!

the mcdonalds in holland don't have it but in malaysia, mcdonalds also sells bubur ayam (malay chicken porridge), ayam goreng mcd (spicy fried chicken) and i can't remember what it's called but it's a burger with a fat crispy chicken fillet (kind of like a zinger but bigger, crunchier). I love them all..